CHEAT SHEET: the average South African sacrifices over R500 000 worth of unused lunch breaks over their career

09 November 2018

Eating lunch at your desk. Credit: iStock

Only 29% of South Africans feel encouraged to take a lunch break and actually enjoy it.

Have you ever felt like skipping your lunch break would have no real implications other than a bit of fatigue and low energy levels? Well, according to a Cost of a Lunchbreak report posted on CareerJunction.co.za, you may be gambling away more than R500 000 by not taking your lunch breaks.

According to the website, the average South African works a total of 2.2 years overtime due to unused lunch breaks, and this amounts to R512 465 worth of free work over a work life from 18 to 65 years old.

There are numerous reasons behind employees not taking their lunch breaks, yet, as reported in a press release sent to W24, the ‘work till burnout’ culture is largely coming from the employees themselves rather than being enforced by employers.

Odile Badenhorst, CareerJunction’s communications manager, is still calling on employers to encourage their staff to take regular breaks away from their desks and enjoy all the benefits that come with this.